Aerith Gainsborough
Aerith Gainsborough is one of the main female characters of Final Fantasy VII. She first appeared as a simple, mysterious, and beautiful flower seller before joining Cloud on his adventure. Her death by the blade of Sephiroth caused the biggest impact on his life, but she continued to support him from the Lifestream. 'Biography' Final Fantasy VII (Before Crossover Cove) Aerith met Cloud as he fled from the bombing of the Sector 1 Reactor, and brought a flower from her. Later, after a failed attack on the Sector 5 Reactor, Cloud fell into the church and wakes up on the flower bed. Reno of the Turks came to apprehend Aerith shortly after, and Aerith asked Cloud to become her bodyguard, offering him a date as payment. Cloud helped Aeris to escape and took her home, but sneaked out during the night to return to Sector 7 alone. Aerith headed him off and Cloud agreed to bring her along. Taking a break in the playground, the pair saw Tifa on a chocobo cart, and assume Don Corneo has kidnapped her. Through an idea of Aerirth, she and a crossdressed Cloud infiltrated the Don's mansion and try to rescue Tifa, who reveals she did not need rescuing in the first place, and was trying to get information on Shinra from the Don. Don Corneo told them Shinra has learned where AVALANCHE's base of operations was, and was planning to drop the plate covering the sector to destroy the entire area. The party's attempts to stop Shinra failed, and Aerith was captured by Tseng while taking Barret's daughter Marlene to safety. Cloud, Tifa and Barret attempted to rescue her from the Shinra Headquarters, but are eventually captured themselves. Aerith's heritage was made known to them, and when Sephiroth attacked Shinra, the group escaped and leaves Midgar to pursue him. Traveling with Cloud and his friends as they pursued Sephiroth, Aerith became increasingly close to them, and following a visit to Cosmo Canyon fully came to terms with her powers and duties as the last Cetra. Eventually the party tracked Sephiroth to the Temple of the Ancients, and Aerith used her innate powers to help decipher the temple's mysteries and find the inner chamber. Here, Sephiroth revealed his plan to use the Black Materia to call Meteor, the ultimate Black Magic. The temple itself transformed into the Black Materia, but Sephiroth manipulated Cloud into giving it to him. When Aerith attempts to stop Cloud, he attacked her and passed out. While he was unconscious, Aerith contacted Cloud in a dream, and told him that as the last Cetra only she can stop Sephiroth. When Cloud awakened, Tifa and Barret told him Aerith was gone. Cloud followed the clues she had given him in the dream to the Forgotten Capital. In a temple underneath the city, the party found Aeris praying on an altar. As Cloud approached her Sephiroth attempted to take control of him to make him kill her, but Cloud was able to resist him. As Aerith finished praying and lift her head to see Cloud, Sephiroth descended from the ceiling and impaled her with the Masamune. Aerith collapses into Cloud's arms as her hair ribbon unraveled, her Materia bouncing off the altar into the water below. Enraged, Cloud turns on Sephiroth, who fled and leaves Jenova∙LIFE to fight them. After Jenova was dispatched and the party paid their respects to Aerith, Cloud carried her to the pool of water in the center of the city and laid her body to rest beneath the water. Later on, the party learned that Aerith was praying for Holy, the ultimate White Magic that can defend against Meteor, called by the White Materia she wore in her hair. The party learned Aerith had succeeded in calling it just prior to her demise, but Sephiroth was blocking its power. After Sephiroth was defeated at the end of the game, Holy was able to move, but by this time Meteor has fallen too close and Holy's energy was unfocused by its gravity. Within the Lifestream, Aeris commanded it to emerge from the Planet and push Meteor back. This gave Holy the room and time it needed to fully focus its energy, and Holy and the Lifestream destroy Meteor and save the Planet. Crossover Cove World Arc Aerith first appeared in the Coliseum, in the Avenue-Garden area and talked with Hermione Granger who was in the area, and tried to keep away from Ginny who had a growing Yummy in her body. Quickly the two became good friends and Aerith reuinted with Cloud, who had witnessed her death and was surprised at her revival. Aerith gave Hermione a complete makeover and reminisced with Cloud about their adventure together. She also witnessed the kidnapping of Vanille who was a Princess of Heart. Upon returning to the world of Disgaea, Aerith spent her time with Cloud and Zack, reminiscing their pasts together and prayed for safety when she saw the others leave to save Vanille. Though she wasn't part of the battle against Dark Falz, she was effected by the power of Kriemhild Gretchen to sleep and live her worst nightmare. When she awoke, she traveled with Nero and later was joined by Romeo, Francisco, and a Mod Soul named Kon who always tried to jump into her bosom, only to be stopped by Nero every time. 'Personality' Aerith is upbeat and cheerful, and several times attempts to cheer up her fellow party members. As she was raised in the slums, Aerith maintains that she can take care of herself, and is capable of fighting off Shinra troops, as well as demonstrating more subtle forms of savvy. When Aerith has made up her mind about doing something, she will not listen to anyone who tells her otherwise. Aerith and Tifa can often be found spending time together when the party splits up on occasion and are good friends. As a child, Aerith was reluctant to accept her Cetra heritage, and she later admits to Cloud she considers herself alone, as she is the only remaining Cetra. She tends to exhibit strange personality quirks at times, such as being afraid of the sky, and claiming she can "hear the wind calling her". These traits may be influenced by her Cetra heritage allowing her to communicate with the Planet. Weapons & Combat Skills While Aerith lacks in the physical stats, she makes up for it with her high magical stats. When Aerith first joins the party she is in the back row by default She wields various rods and staves that often have many Materia slots and boost her magic, making her most suitable for wielding Magic and Summon Materia. One of her weapons, the Fairy Tale, can be acquired in Gongaga and has seven Materia slots, the most of any weapon up to that point and for some time after. Also, in the Train Graveyard, one is able to steal the Striking Staff, which has an attack of 32, an unusually high value for that point in the game, making her a useful physical attacker for a period when put in the front row or given the Long Range Independent Materia. As a White Mage-like character, Aeris's Limit Breaks revolve around healing and buffing the party, most of them restoring HP and curing status ailments. Aeris's ultimate Limit Break is Great Gospel, which fully heals the party and makes them invincible. 'Trivia' *Aerith Gainsborough's name was the inspiration for the username of the person who plays her, Aerith G., as she was and still is a big fan of the character. *For the nightmare sequence after the battle against Dark Falz, Aerith's nightmare was being captured by Shinra and living in HQ while witnessing her family and friends being killed by Turks. *Because one of Aerith's reserved characters, Firion, has a connection to flowers due to the rebellion he's part of being called the Wild Rose while Aerith's connection is that she maintains a flower garden, it will be assumed if and when Firion and Aerith meet, they will become good friends and he may even ask her to hold his Wild Rose. *Due to Aerith's connection to flower because she had a flower garden, that is the main reason why she first appeared in the Avenue-Garden as well as the music selected for her appearance: Aerith's Theme (Flowers Blooming in the Church) Category:Characters